


A Full Bottle

by Airuna



Series: Emmerdale oneshots [2]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: (the Jack-Robert-Farmerhand debacle), Asexual Character, Family, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Liv doesnt actually drink, Liv is a Sudgen-Dingle, Liv is a badass, M/M, Other, Rob is a good big brother, Robert cant sleep without his husband, Roblivion Family, Soppie Robert, Talk about Sexuality, The problem, big brother-ing, kind off, parenting, talk about past homophobia/biphobia, trying to figure out what she is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 13:10:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16409153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Airuna/pseuds/Airuna
Summary: While Aaron is on a trip, Robert comes home to find Liv in a bit of a state and they both open up to each other about their sexualities.





	A Full Bottle

**Author's Note:**

> I'm late for ace week aren't I? Well, here's my contribution anyway. My second fic about Emmerdale less than 2 days away from the first because I have exams in four days so of course, now I'm inspired. A lot of Robert backstory from the show which I only know from what they day from 2014 till now in the Robert storyline so there might be some canon incongruencies. Hope you like it.

Robert was pushing Seb's stroller down the road leisuredly. He was in no rush to get to the Mill, after all Aaron wouldn't be there. He sighed. Why couldn’t this client have come down from Leeds instead of making his husband go to him? They had a perfectly acceptable B&B in Emmerdale. He should know, he'd spend enough nights there.

But now that was over. Now he got to arrive home to his beautiful husband every night. Or every night no muppet called him into the city to close a deal at least. Considering that there had been a time when he'd thought he'd never have Aaron again, this was more than enough. 

And hey, at least he still had Liv and Seb to keep him busy. As soon as his son woke up and Liv came back from her classes he wouldn't even have time to miss Aaron. Yeah, maybe if he told himself that enough times he'd end up buying it.

Well, he had already reached their home, might as well get started with tea while Seb was sleeping.

"I'm home," he called out, closing the front door behind himself and deciding to let Seb in the stroller. No reason to wake him up before he was ready.

"Hey." There was something off with Liv voice, she sounded almost small and far more defensive than she had been with him since... Since the day of the monoxide poison. It only took Robert a glance to see why. She was sitting in the table with her arms crossed in front of her chest and a bottle of vodka in front of her. Thankfully it seemed to still be full. "I didn't drink."

Robert nodded, noting the defiance in her voice. "I believe you, Liv," he said, making the girl relax her shoulders a bit. "You okay?"

"I'm sorry," she said, not answering his question. "I was alone in the inside room of the pub and I just grabbed it. I knew I shouldn't but I really wanted a drink. And then I got here and I knew I should return it but I couldn't but I didn't want to drink it either..." she rambled looking distressed.

"It's okay," Robert reassured her, squeezing her arm and cursing himself for not having hurried back home. "And I'm dead proud of you for not drinking it."

He took the bottle and went to the sink, opening it and dumping the booze on it. "It wasn't open, shouldn't we have given it back to Chas?"

"I'll get her a new one," Rob said resolutely, shaking the bottle to make sure to get rid of the last drops. "You don't need to be in a house with booze and I'm not leaving you alone to go return it."

Liv frowned but didn't complain which did nothing to put him at ease. "You still haven't answered, are you alright?"

"No." Liv pursed her lips looking determinately at the table.

"You wanna talk about it?" Robert asked. "I'm here, or you can call Aaron or your councilor."

That spurred the girl into action, her hands scrambling to grab his arm. "Don't, he's in Leeds and you know he'd come back right away and this client was really important."

"Not half as important as you," Robert told her gently. "And I'm not keeping this from your brother but," he raised a hand to stop her from interrupting, "you could talk to me and then call Aaron and tell him everything is under control."

Liv nodded. "Fair enough."

Robert waited a couple of minutes in silence before it was clear the girl would need some prompting. "So?"

"When did you know ya liked both?" she asked seemingly out of the blue. "That ya weren't straight?"

Robert looked at her, he couldn't fathom where this was coming from but Liv looked way too serious for it to be a diversion. "Which one?"

"Ain't it the same?" Liv looked at him, confused.

"Nah, not really." Robert sighed. "I knew I was attracted to men since my teenage years but I didn't really sleep with one till I was on my twenties and I didn't really accept I was bi till my thirties."

"But if you fancied man then you knew you weren't straight, didn't you?"

"It was a different time, Liv. As far as the 'normal people'," he made the air quotes making her crack a smile, "were concerned, if a bloke fancied a girl he was straight. And sure there were some blokes that fancied other blokes but you only heard of them from whispers. And the people that didn't hate them pitied them because the poor lads couldn't help themselves since they didn’t fancy birds."

"What about gay girls?" Liv raised an eyebrow.

"They were talked about like they were unicorns, Liv." 

"Wow, I knew you were older than Aaron but not that you grew up in the dark ages," she teased looking far less tense.

Robert elbowed her, too relieved to fake too much offence. "I'll have you know that I'm in my prime, just ask your brother." He wriggled his eyebrows making her screw her face in disgust. "And like I was saying, as long as I wanted girls, I had no reason to even think too hard about my sexuality, it was easier that way, and safer."

"Still, I can't believe you didn't sleep with a man until your twenties. Thought you were the kind of person that got what he wanted, when he wanted it, to hell with the consequences."

She had meant it as a joke but Robert paused, debating with himself silently for a minute. "If I tell you something," he started carefully, "promise not to tell anyone? Specially Vic or Dianne?"

"Aaron-"

Rob interrupted her. "He knows."

"Alright then."

Robert nodded. "You're right I am that kind of person and there was a lad in the farm I fancied who fancied me back."

Liv buffed. "Sure that's not your ego talking?"

He laughed, "I'm sure. There's a lot of ways to see if someone is into you, believe me. They always look at you for a second too long and there’s too much ‘accidental’ contact. And there’s also a lot of ways that making it clear you’re interested too without risking a punch in the face for saying too much.”

“I guess you’re the expert.” Robert frowned, there was something akin to bitterness in her voice.

“I’m sure you’d have blokes and girls lining up for you, Liv,” he said trying to cheer her up but seemingly failing spectacularly.

“Then why didn’t you do anything with that farm-hand you liked?” she said, refusing him the opportunity to make things even worse.

“My father caught us,” Robert confessed. “He was less than pleased.” Liv didn’t need the details, it was more than enough that Aaron knew.

“Oh, one of those.”

“The thing is, I don’t think he was but it was just another was I wasn’t the son he wanted,” he shrugged his shoulders at Liv questioning face. “Farmer with a wife and two point five children,” he explained biting a bitter ‘Andy’ back. Liv seemed to be troubled enough without adding that particular drama in the mix.

“Sounds dead boring.”

Robert couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing. “It does, doesn't it?” he asked gleefully. “That’s what I always said.”

“And after that there weren’t any other bloke catching your fancy?”

“More like I wasn’t going to admit it even to myself if there were.” He smiled at Liv trying to keep her from frowning. “It took my father throwing me out and me getting a complete new life away from anyone I knew for me to actually dare to act on it again. And the next morning I slept with my one-night stand’s sister just to prove to myself I was still into women.”

Liv couldn’t represse a giggle. “That was fucked up,” she said trying to sound reproachful.

“Oh I was fucked up,” Robert agreed completely. “And it took me falling head over ass for your brother to admit to myself that maybe I wasn’t just a straight man that sometimes did no strings sex with men. I mean I tried to keep away from Aaron and ended up bringing him coffee and faking car problems to get him on his own and kiss him. I tried to run away after I kissed him and ended up going to look for him that same night. I tried the whole one off thing and ended in an affair...” Liv punched him in the arm. “Yeah, I was an asshole, I know. But you get the gist.”

“I do,” she nodded.

Silence fell over them again until Seb decided to break it. Rob sighed, making to get up but Liv stopped him. “I got it.” She picked him up, cuddling him close. “You’ve missed auntie Liv, haven’t you?”

If the way Seb stopped fretting and giggled grabbing her hair was any indication, he definitely had. Robert waited till Liv had sat again before daring to ask her, “Liv, what was wrong today?”

Liv frowned down at Seb.

“I answered you,” he reminded her.

Liv nodded, still not raising his eyes from the baby. “I don’t fancy anyone,” she confessed quietly. “Never have. Don’t know if I ever will. Don’t even know if I’m straight or not.”

“And have you told Aaron?” Liv nodded. “What did he say?”

“That maybe it’s too soon to know. And that I’ll get there.” She shrugged her shoulders. “And that he supports me no matter what.”

“Of course he does, we all do.”

“Belle said not to compare myself to others, that there’s no normal,” she continued. “And Jacob said that I shouldn’t force it.”

Rob suppressed the sting of hurt of not having been even her third confident, this wasn’t about him. “They are right but I’m sure that’s no comfort for ya, is it?”

She buffed. “Not really. I tried to forget about it, to let it happen but it hasn’t.”

“Alright, so we’ve got two options here, either it happens or it doesn’t,” he summarized. “If it does great, though Aaron and I will have to make sure they are good enough for you, of course.” She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at him. “If it doesn’t you still have us, Aaron and me, and half the village for that matter. You’re a Sugden-Dingle, I’m afraid you won’t ever manage to be alone for five seconds so don’t you think you’ll die alone or some other dramatic shit like that.”

“I’m a Sugden-Dingle, aren’t I?” Liv tried to tease but her tone of voice betrayed some insecurities. “Even though I had you arrested?”

“Specially ‘cause you had me arrested. That’s exactly the kind of crazy stunt I’d have pulled if I’d thought someone was trying to take Aaron away from me,” he confided with a wink.

“I did try to call it off.”

“Which only makes it more Sugden like. Have I ever told you why I ended up being thrown out of my brother’s wedding?” Liv shook her head. “I got upset when Dianne gave Andy my father’s ring to melt into their wedding ones so I got spectacularly drunk and called the jewellers to make some, let’s say unflattering, alterations. Though in my defense who accepts to put insulting inscriptions in wedding rings just because some drunken caller with no identification whatsoever asks?” He shook his head appalled. “But back to the point, I forgot all about it till the day I patched things up with Andy which also happened to be their wedding day. More specifically till the ring exchange ceremony.”

Liv laughed at him. “You’re a mess, mate.”

“Yes I am, and I still managed to marry someone like Aaron twice. You’ll have no problem finding someone if you want, whatever you’re into sex or not.”

“But you and Aaron…” Liv bit his lip. “It started because of the sex, didn’t it? If one of you wasn’t into it…” she trailed of.

Robert thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, “I wouldn’t say that. No, if anything the sex was the excuse.” 

“The excuse?”

“The catalyst if you rather,” Robert offered. “I found Aaron fascinating from the beginning. And not just because of how fit he looked in those overalls. He had stolen my car but then refused to… ugh... to take advantage of certain situations because he thought they were morally wrong and went out of his way to put things that didn’t affect him right. He was the first person to see right through me but it didn’t terrified me, or him for that matter, like it should have. He was surly but kind. He called me out on my bullshit but kept giving me chances to proves myself…” He shook his head fondly. “I think that I would have found excuses to spend time with him anyway. And I’d definitely have fallen for him within the month.”

“You mean that?” Liv sounded as hopeful as she was terrified.

“Liv, if right now you made me choose between a life with Aaron but no sex or sex with whoever I wanted, no, sex with Aaron, which is on a league of its own, for the rest of my life but without us feeling anything for each other, I wouldn’t hesitate a second. I love sex, specially with Aaron, but it doesn’t even compare to everything else he gives me.”

Liv blinked rapidly looking down at Seb. “You’re Daddy is the soppiest, isn’t he?”

“Whatever. So feeling better?”

“Kind of,” Liv nodded. “You ain’t Aaron but close enough I guess.”

“Then let’s go, we need to get the little one to Vic before she goes to sleep.”

Liv looked baffled. “Why?"

“It’s not like we can take him to Leeds with us, is it?” Robert shrugged.

“I’m fine, Rob. Promise. Ya don’t need to do this.”

“Who’s saying it’s for your benefit?” Robert raised an eyebrow at her. “You know I don’t sleep well without my husband. So c'mon, hurry up.”

Liv’s answering smile was bright as the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> .... And then they found Aaron halfway back home because he too is a mess without his husband.
> 
> So as someone like Liv (or at least I think so? Great think about asexuality, at least for me, you never know for sure.) I wanted to write what I think is going on in her head but obviously I don't know how the show will play out. And I love my messed up son and his journey so I included all I could of it here. If you liked it please consider leaving kudos or comments and have a great day!


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